William mason



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w. MASON.

MAGAZINE FIREARM.

No. 354,327. JPatented Dec. 14, 1886.

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W, MASON.

MAGAZINE FIRE ARM. I N0.'354 ,327. Patented Dec. 14, 1886.

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N. PETERS. Phemuuw m h". Washington. 0, c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

XVILLIAM MASON, OF N E\V HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MAGAZINE Fl RE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 354,327, dated December 14, 1886.

Application filed May 3, 1886. Serial No. 200,9?8. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM Mason, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new I1n-. provement in Magazine Fire-Arms; and I do,

,or about to be locked; Fig. 3, a front view of the lever F and the hammer, with a transverse section of the firing-pin; Figs. 4 and 5, views like Figs. 1 and 2, showing a modification of the retracting-lever; Fig. 6, an under side View of the breech-piece illustrating the modification.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of breechloading firearms in which the breech-piece is hung upon a pivot below the barrel, and adapted to swing downward and backward in opening, and in which in the first part of the opening movement of the breech-piece the Drcechpiece, because of a slot at its pivot, makesa descending movement at the rear to disengage it from the shoulder which looks it in the closed position to resist recoil, such construction of breech-piece being the same as that shown in the patent of Browning, No. 336,287. In this arm the hammer is hung upon the same axis as the breechpiece, and so as to be turned backward in the opening of the breech-piece. The firing-pin is arranged longitudinally through the breechpiece and adapted to be struck by the hammer.

The object of the present invention is a positive automatic retraction of the firingpin during the unlocking movement of the breechpiece; and the invention consists in a lever arranged in the breech-piece in connection with the firing-pin, and so that under the nu locking movement of the breech-piece a retracting movement will be imparted to the firing-pin through saidlever.

A represents the receiver, to the forward end of which the barrel B is attached, the receiver being constructed with a recess in which the operative mechanism ofthe arm is arranged.

0 represents the breech-piece, which is hung upon a pivot or axis, a, below and in rear of the barrel, and so that it may be turned backward and downward to open. The breechpiece is constructed with a locking-shoulder, I), (see Fig. 2,) which is adapted to engage a shoulder, d, on the receiver when the breechpiece is in its closed position, as seen in Fig. 1, and thereby support the breech-piece against recoil.

In order that the unlocking movement may be made before the actual opening of the breechpiece commences, the breechpiece is constructed. with a slot, 6, at the pivot, (indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1,) extending from the pivot, inclined upward and backward, and so that in the first part of the opening movement of the breech-piece the breech-piece will be. thrown down upon the pivot a until the upper end of the slot e comes to a bearing thereon, as seen in Fig. 2. This downward movement takes the shoulder b away from the shoulder or abutment at on the receiver, and so that the breechpiece is free to be opened. Then when the breeclrpiece is returned to the same position as that seen in Fig. 2 the final closing move ment of the breech-piece brings the shoulders I) d into engagement, as seen in Fig. 1, and as in the Browning gun, before referred to.

In the breech-piece the firing-pin D is arranged in the usual manner, and so that the hammer E, which, as here represented, is hung upon the same pivot, a, as the breech-piece, may strike, as seen in Fig. 1, to impart the blow of the hammer to the cartridge in the barrel.

In the unlocking movement of the breechpiece its front face rocks, as it were, upon the rear end of the barrel, so that while its lower edge substantially rests against the rear end of the barrel the upper edge is turned away therefromthat is to say, the lower edge of the front face of the breech-piece forms a fulcrum or center upon which the breech-piece turns in the unlocking movement-consequently the part of the breech-piece at the rear end of the firingpin drops to a considerable extent-that is, as from the position in Fig. lto that in Fig. 2. I take advantage of this rocking movement of the breech-piece to retract the firing-pin, and such retracting is best done by means of a lever, F, its lower end hung to the hub of the hammer, as at f, the lever extending upward, its upper end terminating in a rearward incline, g, adapted to bear against a corresponding surface, h, on the breech-piece, and above the end of the lever F the firing-pin is constructed with a vertical opening, i, into which the upper end of the lever F may pass and into which it extends when in the closed position, as seen in Fig. 1, but so that the firingpin may be thrown to its extreme striking position,as indicated in that figure, before the firing-piu comes to a bearing against the rear face of the upper end of. the lever F. The lever F turns'with the breech-piece and hammer in the opening movement; but because the breech-piece has first a descending movement at its rear end before the hammer will have moved to any considerable extent it follows that the breechpiece will bethrown down onto the upper end of the lever F, as seen in Fig. -2, and in such movement the cam-like surfaeeg of the lever,

-. riding over the surface h of the breech-piece,

imparts to the lever F a rear swinging movement to-the extent of the cam action, and so that the upper end of the lever may pass into the recess 6 in the firing-pin. This movement of the lever forces the firing-pin rearwardand locks itin that retracted position, as seen in Fig. 2; then when the breech-piece is returned the firing-pin is still held retracted until it arrives at the locking position, as seen in Fig. 2 then in the locking movement of the breechpiece it rises so as to take the firing-pin out of control of the end of the lever and so as to leave the firing-pin free for the blow; but this unlocking of the firing-pin cannot occur until after the locking movement of the breechpiece has commenced; hence accidental discharge of the cartridge in the closing movement of the breech-piece is avoided, because the blow cannot reach the cartridge until the breeclrpiece is in the extreme closed position, and then all the parts are locked to resist such explosion.

Instead of hanging the retracting-lever upon the hammer, as I have described, it may be arranged as seen in Figs. 4 and 5. In this case the lever F is hung upon a pivot, l, in the breech-piece, directly below the firing-pin, the lever extending up into a recess, i, formed in the breech-piece, then upon the under side of the breech-piece a longitudinally-moving slide, G, is arranged, extending to the extreme front face of the breech-'piece, and at its rear end bearing against the lever F, preferably above its pivot, and preferably entering a recess on the forward side of the lever, as shown in Fig. 6.

When the parts are in the closed position, as seen in Fig. 4, the slide and lever F being free, the firing-pin may be thrown forward to the locking position (seen in Fig. 5) the slide G bears against the rear end of the barrel,(or what is the same thing, the front end of the recessin the receiver,) and so as to prevent forward movement of the lever F until the locked position, Fig. 4, is reached, when the firing-pin is free to be struck and communicate its blow to the cartridge. In either case it is the unlocking movement of the breechpiece which actuates the firing pin-retracting lever and the locking movement of the breechpieee which releases the firing-pin.

Instead of hanging the lever upon the hub of the hammer, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, it may be hung upon the same axis as the hammer, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1. 4

Other modifications of the retracting-lever will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to any particular construction of the lever, the essential feature of my invention being the arrangement ofa lever in connection with the firing-pin,

whereby in the unlocking of the breech-piece, produced by a descending movement of the breech-piece on its axis, the firing-pin is retracted I do not illustrate the mechanism whereby the breech-piece is operated, as it is not essential to my invention, it being sufiicient forillustration to say that it may be by means of an arm extending from its under side, and as indicated by the broken portions in the respective figures, andsubstantially the same as that in the Browning patent, before referred to.

I claim- 1. In a fire-arm, the combination of the bar rel open at its rear end, a breech-piece hung in the receiver in rear of said barrel upon an axis at right angles to the barrel and so as to swing downward and backward in opening, the breech-piece constructed with a slot inclined upward and backward from its pivot when the breech-piece is inits closed position, the breech piece also constructed with a shoulder, and the receiver with a corresponding shoulder against which the said shoulder on the breech-piece will abut when the breechpiece is in its closed position to resist recoil, a firing-pin extending longitudinally through said breech-piece, and a lever hung upon its axis,so as to swing in a plane'substantially parallel with the plane of the axis of the firingpin, and arranged to swing with the breechpiece in its opening and closing movement, the firing-pin constructed with a recess into IIO which the free end of the said lever enters, to make engagement with the firing-pin, and a bearing arranged to engage said lever in the first part of the opening movement of the breech-piece, substantially as described, and whereby there is imparted to said free end of the lever a rear movement, and corresponding retracting movement to' the firing-pin during the unlocking movement of the breech-piece, substantially as described.

2. In a tire-arm, the combination of the barrel open at its rear end, abreech-piece hung in the receiver in rear of said barrel upon an axis at right angles to the barrel, and so as to swing downward and backward in opening, the breech-piece constructed with a slot inclined upward and backward from its pivot when the breech-pieceisinits closed position,thebreechpiece also constructed with a shoulder, and the receiver with a corresponding shoulder against which the said shoulder on the breech-piece will abut when the breech-piece is in its closed position to resist recoil, the hammer hung upon WVILLIAM MASON.

\Vitnesses:

DANIEL H. VEADER, LEE H. DANIELS. 

